Earlier this month, MagNet released newsstand numbers for the first half of the year. The numbers showed a sharp decline in sales through wholesalers and retailers, no doubt a reflection of the Source Interlink closure last year and ailing retailer Barnes & Noble's recent decision to stop providing magazine sales data. Writes Tom Zind of Foliomag.com, "The declines are accelerating and the pain is spreading." MagNet's own analysis of the data indicates that when all is said and done, 2015 newsstand sales will be half of what they were in 2007.

Erik Sass of MediaPost.com breaks down some of the more significant findings: "In the U.S., the total volume of magazines distributed by wholesalers slipped 2.6% from 805 million issues in the first half of 2014 to 784 million in the first half of 2014. However, the volume of issues sold fell even more, with an 18.5% drop from 254.5 million issues to 207.5 million over the same period."

Despite the ailing newsstand numbers for the first half of 2015, the news isn't all bad for print. According to a recent Mequoda report, as discussed by Jack Loechner on MediaPost.com, print readers still outnumber digital ones 2 to 1. His article features several tables highlighting some of the more significant statistics, Perhaps most significant is this: 147 million adults have read an average of 428 million print magazine issues in the last 30 days [and] 77 million adults have read an average of 184 million digital magazine issues in the last 30 days." Read more here.

National Geographic Media Brands Go For-Profit

Earlier this month, National Geographic's various brands were brought under the umbrella of Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox. Thus, the nonprofit brand became a for-profit venture for the first time in its hundred-plus year history. The National Geographic website sums up the deal thusly: "Under the $725-million deal, Fox, which currently holds a majority stake in National Geographic's cable channels, will own 73 percent of the new media company, called National Geographic Partners. The National Geographic Society will own 27 percent." The National Geographic Society will continue to operate as a nonprofit. Read more here.